


Ultimate

by Shaw



Series: Surviving Your Coworkers: A Cohesive Guide to Working in Blackwatch [12]
Category: Blackwatch - Fandom, Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-26 12:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15000467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaw/pseuds/Shaw
Summary: Something dangerous, something deadly; When they let loose there was no way to stop it.





	1. Blade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raging fires, sharp teeth, and an appetite for destruction.

Genji was peculiar. Everyone knew. He used positively medieval tactics to fight-- throwing shurikens and slashing with shortswords. He carried his odachi nearly wherever he went, but few people had seen him use it. They should be glad, because it was a sight both fantastic and horrifying to behold. Sometimes, the specials ops team could still hear the roars. Some kind of supernatural force none of them could explain. They didn’t want it to be explained. They felt better off trying to ignore it.

 

“Ready?” Gabriel’s voice over the comm was nearly total static. Jesse couldn’t tell if it was because of interference or the fact he’d had a grenade go off near his damn head. Swallowing thickly and licking the blood off his lips, he peeked around the corner he was hiding by. Immediately several bullets whizzed past him. Piss poor aim these goons had, didn’t they? 

“Not quite. Still firin’ up. You’re gonna have to give me a second. You can lead a horse to water, ya know?” As he spoke, Jesse raised his gun, stepped out from behind his corner, and felled a couple of his combatants in one go. They retreated further back, giving Jesse a flurry of bullets for his trouble. Several caught him in the chest, thudding solidly into the kevlar of his vest. He wheezed despite the protection, knowing he’d have bruised ribs later. 

 

“Will you two shut up? I’m trying to concentrate.” Moira sounded as fine as wine at the moment, not even out of breath. Which Jesse found himself jealous of, considering she had reported earlier that she was surrounded as well. What with her fancy science shit it was no wonder she was doing right as rain. 

 

“Sorry to disturb you, just a lil busy being shot at here is all. Genji, where exactly did you fuck off to again?” It was a bit hopeful to even think Genji had his comm on, but the answer was instantaneous. 

 

“I don’t recall giving you permission to speak to me. I’m almost back to your position. Coming up behind enemy line.” Jesse’s jaw clenched at the news. He’d prefer Genji on his side, hopefully to block some bullets or something. He had this fancy trick that Jesse found actually quite impressive. Not to mention he didn’t want a front row seat to the carnage Genji was about to unleash. The guy wasn’t exactly quick or concise about how he killed people. 

 

“Moira, I’m coming up on you. How’s the situation?” Jesse listened to Reyes voice instead as he chewed on the inside of his mouth absently. There was a long lapse of radio silence before Moira finally answered, sounding surprisingly humored. 

 

“Situation, ideal. Resistance neutralized. No need to shoot your way in, Commander. Just try to avoid stepping on the bodies.” If he wasn’t so damn used to it, Jesse would shiver. Actually, him being used to such things was probably more disturbing in itself. Nothing like Moira O’Deorain to really give you the heebies and the jeebies. 

 

“Great,” Came Gabriel’s deadpan. “Thanks for the heads up.” It was then that Jesse heard it, a soft clicking and then a snap. A deep tingle, almost like a vibration, took over half his face and he took a deep breath. 

 

“ ‘m ready. Genji?” The echo was disorientating. Genji’s shout came in over the comm as well from the opposite side of the room. The roars followed. Sometimes Jesse wondered what exactly Genji was saying. He’d never bothered to ask, didn’t really see how to bring the whole topic up. Screams of fear and pain rang out, punctuated by Genji’s own of rage. Jesse finally peeked out after most of it quieted down only to get a splash of gore directly to the face. 

 

“Jesus, fuck!” He spit and sputtered, someone else’s blood and flesh having found its way into his mouth. This was less than ideal. The roar came dangerously close and suddenly stopped all at once. When Jesse opened his eyes finally, Genji’s sword was pointed straight at his face. The man was breathing heavily, vents popped open and expelling steam as his cooling systems struggled to keep up. 

 

“It’s you.” Genji stated, voice raw but level. The sword was withdrawn and slipped away. Jesse frowned at him openly, brow drawn. 

 

“You see anythin’ wrong with this picture?” 

 

“No, not particularly.”

 

“Oh, there’s somethin’. Figuring it’s all’a someone else’s blood an guts on my face. Did ya really have to?” Genji made a noise of disapproval, moving his flesh shoulder and rolling his neck.

 

“You say this as if it were on purpose. Perhaps you should have kept your head down.” Jesse made a face, using the back of his hand to try and wipe his face clean. It was a hopeless effort, but he didn’t necessarily enjoy his current condition. Genji watched him passively for a moment before shaking his head and turning away. Once more his voice echoed in Jesse’s comm piece. 

 

“Situation neutralized. Heading to rendezvous.”


	2. Draw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One shot, one kill. No luck, all skill.

The first time Jesse had used his Deadeye, it’d left him damn well blind in one eye. That had been when he was 16 years old-- the experimental cybernetics implanted in his eye still new, the process done by less than delicate hands. He was past 20 now, the implant a unspoken rumor among Blackwatch ranks. Nobody questioned why a man with a revolver was on the special ops team. Not when he could shoot six bullseyes from half a mile.

 

“Got it covered, boss. Ain’t no thing.” Genji glanced Jesse’s way again. The man’s eye was twitching slightly, as if something were bugging it. Genji knew well enough exactly why, but he still found it an odd tic to have. Jesse looked to him, gaze dark in the dim light-- brown eyes nearly black. Genji blinked at Jesse blankly as the man raised an eyebrow at him. He said nothing. 

 

Jesse conceded at this and forged the path forward, gun raised and reloaded. Genji followed short behind, flicking his shuriken between his fingers in an almost nervous manner. He wasn’t nervous. No, hardly. He was simply riding off the wave still. 

 

When he had found out he could still summon his dragon, he had been torn. On one hand, he felt glad to have something left of himself. Something that couldn’t be changed no matter how much of him they took away. On the other hand… Well, it was not always nice to be burdened by the knowledge that no matter how many of his family he killed, no matter how many times he denounced them, he was and always would be a Shimada by blood and soul. 

 

Slowly the tingling across his back ceased and the adrenaline spike wore down. His new systems were better at handling the fatigue he should have felt after calling upon her, but his achingly human brain still felt the effects.

 

As the two men advanced through the now hauntingly empty halls of the facility, they came upon carnage that seemed to have been left behind by Moira. The sunken faces, skin taunt and devoid of moisture and lividity, glassy staring eyes. Whatever she did to people when she got to killing them, the aftermath was anything but pretty. Jesse and Genji alike avoided looking at the strewn corpses. The ones with the bullets between their eyes were more pleasant, which was saying something. 

 

When they came upon the rendezvous point, they encountered a little bit of an issue. 

 

The device dropped next to Genji, his brain struggling to conjure up the command to tell his body to react. Involuntary actions did not come so easy to his metal limbs, and it detonated unchecked, sending Genji flying into Jesse. The two landed hard, tangled together in a genuinely unpleasant manner. When Genji tried to move, he found he couldn’t. Jesse grunted loudly and struggled underneath the deadweight of Genji’s metal frame. Shame flushed over the aforementioned cyborg as he tried to push himself up with his flesh arm. He couldn’t see very well all of a sudden, squinting pitifully as he struggled to maneuver his body off of Jesse’s. 

 

“Listen, Genji, I’m real flattered but can you please get the Hell off of me? What’s the matter with you?” He tried to respond but a loud static came out instead. It grated harshly as he uselessly floundered, managing to finally shove up and off Jesse. The man scowled and cursed under his breath. 

 

“Shit, pardner, you don’t sound so good. What the Hell was that thing? Ain’t no normal bomb, that’s for sure. Not strong enough to do much damage…” Jesse crawled over Genji, staring down at him in confusion. Genji could only stare back, the carbon fiber muscles of his reconstructed jaw not responding. 

 

“Boss, we got, uh, somethin’ happenin’ at rendezvous. Hostiles hit Genji with some kind of fancy shit, think it might’ve scrambled him all up. He’s just sorta sitting here.”

 

“An EMP, McCree.” Moira’s voice came staticy over his comm. She said something else but all he got was white noise. Jesse picked at the device in his ear, growling. Genji sat still, since there was nothing else to really do. He hated this. His whole body had been shut down. Who knew if this would finally kill him. Only part of his breathing systems were manual after all. The rest were supposed to be mechanically supported. This would be one shitty way to die if so. 

 

“We’re sittin’ ducks, Genji. We’re right fucked. No way to contact the others, you’re just about scrap metal right now, and that things got me walkin’ tilted too.” Genji tracked Jesse with his eyes, paying as much attention as he could. The man started to move him, inch by inch. Genji hadn’t been aware of just how heavy his body was until he hadn’t been able to control it. Jesse was struggling too, especially since it was glaringly obvious neither of them really wanted to be touching at the moment. 

 

“ ‘m surprised they didn’t rush us as soon as you went down. Wonder what they’re doin’. Any hopes that the others got to them first?” Genji really wished McCree would shut up for a second but could recognize nerves when he saw them. He blinked twice but Jesse didn’t seem to notice, busy looking around and flicking the ridiculous spur he had on the butt of his gun. He’d claimed it was for pistol whipping, when Genji had pointed it out. 

 

“I’m gonna peek out and check to see how many of these bastards we’re dealin’ with. You, uh… sit tight, I guess?” Genji wanted to punch him. Probably could have with his flesh hand but he wanted to keep as still as possible and ignore the fact he was literally a disembodied half-a-torso at the moment. Jesse left him there to stew in his currently immobility only briefly, but it felt like an eternity. 

 

“Looks like there’s about 19 of them, but there might be more. They’re all kind of hangin’ back and waiting. Not sure what for…If it wasn’t for that damn-- what’d Moira call it? An EMP?-- wasn’t for that damn thing I could probably take out at least half of them.” Genji watched Jesse rub at one eye with the heel of his hand, mouth twisted down into a sharp frown. His eyes were finally adjusted to the dark a bit at least. He hadn’t realized just how much they’d altered his sight. Everything seemed to be in a lower definition. 

 

Suddenly something popped up on his HUD. 

 

‘System Restart In-Progress… 2%’

 

Thank fuck. Taking a slow breath, Genji moved his flesh hand to Jesse and gripped at his leg clumsily. The man cast him a look of surprise before moving closer. 

 

“What’sit? You feelin’ any better?” Genji blinked twice. Jesse caught it this time, eyes narrowing. He nodded in understanding. Genji let go of him and started to focus all his energy and effort on moving his body. The progress number was creeping up slowly but surely. When it hit about 10% they heard footsteps. 

 

“They’re coming, finally. I got a couple round of ‘mmunition left. Should be enough to last us until we’re both up an’ runnin’. You sit tight, I got this.” Genji wanted to punch him again, and this time he really considered it. Alas, Jesse was up and dashing away before Genji could come to a conclusion. Pulse rifle shots zapped through the air as Jesse ran, leading the group away from where Genji was resting. 

 

The sound of bullets hitting their mark and bodies thudding to the floor was comforting in the fact it meant that whatever Jesse was doing at the moment, he was successful at it. As Genji’s systems warmed up and the percentage climbed higher, some of his functions came back online. His sight sharped in a way almost disorientating and he found he could suddenly breath easier. He tried to move again but found he wasn’t quite at that point. Apparently it was booting up his internal functions first because getting to the whole moving part. 

 

Shots slowed but Genji could still hear plenty of boots tramping around. What was Jesse waiting for? Genji knew he could easily take them out, no tricks needed. Unless the man just felt like showing off. That sent a trill of anger down his spine. Now wasn’t the time to--

 

The hostile rounded the corner then, nearly stumbling on Genji’s prone form. Genji seized up, eyes widening as he stared up at the barrel of the pulse rifle currently lowered to his face. The masked individual seemed to hesitate. This proved fatal. 

 

Jesse’s voice range out loud and clear, a low rumble that echoed slightly through the space. The person standing over Genji turned in confusion, raising their gun as they searched for Jesse. Genji caught sight of him first, having been graced with a position that granted him VIP access to the show. 

 

The gunshots came then, just as everyone seemed to process where the man was. A spatter of brain matter and blood fell over Genji as the enemy before him was felled with a fatal blow. Genji counted the thud of bodies slowly crumpling to the ground. One, two, three, four, five, six… Seven? Eight? Impressive. Genji knew for a fact there weren’t that many bullets in the chambers of Jesse’s pistol. He knew the man was a fancy shooter, but this was almost the impossible. A chime sounded and suddenly Genji’s body sparked to life, jerking like he’d been electrocuted. Which, to be fair, was basically what was happening. 

 

He was up on his feet before the shots started again. There was only three people left and Genji had every intention to take them out on his own, punish them for what they did to him. When they lay in pieces on the ground, Jesse finally blessed him with his presence. He was grinning like a madman. 

 

“Not bad, eh? Saved your chops there. Sorry for such a close call, but after gettin’ all scrambled like that it took ‘er a bit to get goin’ again. Ya can lead a horse to water-” 

 

“But you cannot make it drink. I am aware of the idiom.” Genji’s interruption didn’t seem to put a damper on the bloodshed induced glee Jesse seemed to be experiencing. He merely chuckled lowly and shook his head, giving a passing glance to the chunks of meat strewn across the ground. 

 

“They’ll think twice before pullin’ that shit again. Your comm up? Mine’s been taken out back, if ya know what I mean.” Genji didn’t actually know what that meant, but he didn’t feel like admitting that. Instead he merely nodded. His comm was built directly into his systems, which was annoying considering he sometimes picked up on frequencies not meant for him. He’d heard very odd conversations on base. 

 

“It is, as well as the rest of my systems.” A pause. The device clicked on then, just by willing it to. “Commander Reyes, do you read me?” 

 

Jesse and Genji sat in relative silence as they waiting for a response. Eventually it came. Gabriel sounded ragged, breathing uneven and voice rasping. 

 

“I read you. Got caught up in something. Good to see you’re operational again, Genji. Would’ve hated to have to drag you back in pieces for Ziegler to take another crack at her favorite party trick.” The joke felt grim and heavy on Genji’s chest but despite himself he hummed back in response. 

 

“Where are you?”


	3. Bloom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the shadows, death comes.

When Gabriel Reyes blossomed, he did so in a fantastic whirl of bullets and movements that seemed more like they belonged on a stage than in the middle of a battlefield. Nobody was sure how he did it, only that when he did there was no running from it. You picked a god and prayed, hoping that the whirlwind passed you by. 

 

Gabriel was doing well, despite the circumstances. Moira had noted that from the start. Sure, this was no different than most of their dirty jobs-- get in, kill everyone you can, steal some intel, and get out-- but Gabriel Reyes was working with some new equipment which meant he had most if not all of Moira’s attention. Occasionally he would lose his breathe and have to take an uncharacteristic break as he sat there trying to make sure he didn’t exhale his internal organs in a cloud of smoke-- this was just one of the current unsavory side effects. At least he was in a considerably more stable condition than her other subject. 

 

“We’re coming up on another sector.” Gabriel informed her blandly. Moira couldn’t have cared much less about this information. She was more interested in the information they’d grabbed from the mainframe that had been supporting the system. They’d managed to trap the AI that had been guarding it in the device they’d used to hack in. She was fascinated with the AI, the thing having shown some level of sentience that rivaled even the sophisticated ATHENA intelligence that Overwatch possessed. 

 

“Boss, we… …. somethin’ ... at rendezvous. Hostiles hit … …. fancy shit, think it might’ve scrambled him … .... He’s … sorta sitting ...” The static over the comm was nearly impossible to decode, if it weren’t for the fact that Moira was smarter than the average bear. Gabriel shot her a confused look as Jesse garbled over the line. She shook her head, slowing to a stop and pressing a single finger to the piece in her ear. 

 

“It’s an EMP, McCree. I’d think you would have been able to figure that out on your own, but I stand corrected.” No response. Go figure. Jesse’s comm had been acting up ever since that grenade that had been dropped on them. It’d been what initially sent them off in different directions rather than slowly working through the compound as a group. They hadn’t expected to be, well, expected. Splitting up had given them some element of surprise at least. 

 

“Lay off, O’Deorain.” Gabriel grumbled, shooting her a sharp look as he tapped his foot with impatience. She shrugged at him. 

 

“We’re too far from rendezvous to make it to them in time, you know. Luckily for us both, Jesse can take care of himself.” Gabriel didn’t seem impressed with what Moira had said. He stared at her blankly for some time, but Moira had spent enough time around him now to be able to read his microexpressions. He was worried. How quaint, she mused. 

 

“It’s not McCree that I’m worried about.” He stressed Jesse’s name which Moira understood. Technically speaking, Agent McCree was of higher standing than herself. Only technically, she was assured, considering she was not only taller but also intellectually superior. She knew Jesse McCree was no idiot, but he sure did act like one for whatever reason. 

 

“Ah, yes, Shimada… Well, this has brought a new defect to light. I’ll have to talk to Angela about it when we return. I’m sure she’ll be quite pleased to hear there’s yet another thing she needs to fix. Although I could have already put in measures to prevent this if someone, would allow me full access to him.” Gabriel made an exasperated noise, turning away and starting to briskly pace away. 

 

“We are not talking about this right now, Moira. You already know Genji is out of my hands. I’m just his commanding officer, not the overseer to his repairs. You want to talk about this? Talk about it with Morrison.” Moira followed after Gabriel at a similarly brisk pace, easily catching up with as she loped along by his side. Frowning slightly she pushed a hand back through her hair and pursed her lips. 

 

“Oh, but when has this organization ever answered to the high king? Consider him a golden fleece suspended in the branches, willing foolish heroes to seek glory. What matter does he mean when there is more to be found past frivolous splendities?” Gabriel’s brow creased as Moira spoke and for a moment she thought she had convinced him. Her wit was hard to deny, after all. Instead, he scoffed. 

 

“Moira, I don’t know a single damn fuck of what you just said. I wish you would speak like a normal human being sometimes; It’d probably make tolerating you less of a fucking chore.” Figures. Moira kept her mouth shut now, not seeing the point in continuing to speak if Gabriel could not even parse what she was trying to convey to him. Such a fucking shame, really, she thought bitterly. That so few people could grasp the straws she was casting upon them. 

 

The first bullet whizzed past her face when they founded a corner too quickly. Raising her gaze up she nonchalantly took in their surroundings, finding the culprit rather quickly. They had their head bowed, face near the primitive communication device strapped to their chest. Moira looked upon them distastefully, bending the knuckles of her hand to trigger the device strapped to it. 

 

The negative energy pulsed and coagulated, heavy and oppressive as it sat hovering over her palm. She cast it easily and watched it sail to the now very startled moron that had dared to shoot at her. Moira knew that being shot at was in the job description but she just couldn’t help the sheer indignity that it brought. It inspired great insult in her. She took a specific kind of pleasure in killing people who thought they could best her through sheer brute force and bullets. 

 

The person dropped dead soon thereafter, the volume of their flesh stolen right off their bones as the orb dissipated with each beat of their heart sending it coursing through their body. Gabriel huffed behind her and she ignored it for the time being. Some people just couldn’t help but judge things they didn’t understand. 

 

“Great. That’s one down and about several hundred more to go.”

 

“Don’t sound so excited, Commander.” The sound of boots was already advancing upon their location. Moira suddenly got an idea. She turned quickly to Gabriel, a certain light in her eyes as a grin split her face. Gabriel suddenly looked very wary. 

 

“Has anybody told you that you smile like someone who just figured out how to hide the body?” 

 

“On the occasion. Reyes, might I suggest you wraithe into the group of men as they’re still together? It would be an excellent chance to use your ability in combat, don’t you think?” Gabriel’s face steeled with a preemptive no before he thought about it. If her got into the midst of the group, he could easily surprise them and over take them. Moira knew that was what he was thinking, at least. Mainly because it was what she was thinking. 

 

“I’m not sure if this shit is combat ready.” He finally said. Moira steepled her fingers as the sound of advancing enemies drew closer and closer. 

 

“You might never get to find out if you don’t do it right now. That sounds like a small squadron coming our way.” Which it did. Moira was not one to exaggerate, not usually anyways. At least she thought so. Gabriel’s face twitched with unresolved thoughts before he finally closed his eyes and sighed. 

 

Moira watched in awe as he dissipated before her very eyes. He must’ve been holding out during their visits in the lab. She’d never seen him go incorporeal so quickly before! She watched the dark cloud disappear into the shadows. With a sort of giddiness she had yet to experience for years, she stealthily followed the lead. The show was about to begin, after all. 

 

When Gabriel Reyes resolidified, it was in the very middle of the huddled group of hired muscles. Moira watched from a relatively safe distance, hidden from sight. 

 

“Clearing the area.” The announcement was clinical, straight forward, and caught the targets off guard as they all swung around to look at the man that had merely shown up. The bullets went flying then, a haze of smoke kicked up as Gabriel flickered between his two forms. Moira moved in to pick of the few that managed that managed to scramble backwards away from Gabriel, watching their cheeks sink in and their skin tighten around their bones. Not a single bullet hit her as she did this. They never did. 

 

“Impressive!” She finally announced, kicking a corpse out of the way as she stepped through the blood pooling on the floor. Gabriel stood over the carnage, face stony with concentration. Moira couldn’t help smiling at the moment, despite Gabriel’s current mild distress. It worked! It had really worked! She could already see herself receiving a reward for this. If only Lihua showed such control…

 

“I didn’t do anything different than usual, not really.” Gabriel sounded tired. Moira couldn’t have that. Flicking a wrist she produced a secondary orb. It glowed softly in her hand, golden light bathing their surroundings as she pushed it gently towards Gabriel. It drifted around him, thin tendrils coming down to creep into the bumps, cuts, punctures, and bruises. 

 

“Hey, Reyes?” Moira and Gabriel alike perked up at the voice of their pilot suddenly coming onto the line.

 

“Fio. I’m guessing this is our cue to get our asses in gear?” 

 

“Preferably, sir! I’ve got visuals on the compound. Thought I’d warn you to get a move on since your tracker shows you’re not at rendezvous yet.” 

 

“We’ll get there when we get there.” Moira announced, looking at her nails. One of them was cracked. How unpleasant. Fio laughed over the mic before the line went silent. It was short lived.

 

“Commander Reyes, do you read me?” Shimada. So they did survive. Excellent. Gabriel grumbled something under his breath, holstering his guns. 

 

“I read you. Got caught up in something. Good to see you’re operational again, Genji. Would’ve hated to have to drag you back in pieces for Ziegler to take another crack at her favorite party trick.” No answer for some time, but the soft white noise of the comm line notified them that Genji had heard and was possibly mulling over a response. Moira thought it had been funny, but then again her humor was not conventional. 

 

“Where are you?” Was the reply at last. 

 

“Coming up on rendezvous now. Fio’s coming as quick as she can.”


	4. Coalesce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With my left hand I bestow and with my right I bethrow.

Moira’s methods were unconventional, her results more often than not a strange mix of horrifying and awe inspiring. One hand gives, the other takes away-- that was what she had drilled. When they came together, eclipsing one another into a single force? The subtle difference between friend and foe became a matter of life or death. 

 

The team was able to regroup successfully at rendezvous, fending off the few attackers that dared to attempt to hound them while they awaited their faithful pilot. She was close behind, dealing with some minor anti-aircraft artillery interference. Gabriel put on his best stone-faced expression and tried to hold it together, even as the nagging need to cough up belches of smoke tickled the back of his throat. 

 

They all looked a little worse for wear. Jesse was curled in on himself slightly, wincing whenever he took too deep a breath. Genji seemed like he was running on fumes, even if his body was still raring to go. He knew he sure felt like he’d seen better days. Moira, on the other hand… 

 

Gabe assumed it had something to do with the strange rash that had started creeping on her right hand. If he didn’t know better he’d say she’d hooked that tech right into her skin. It probably fed right into her own body now. She was livelier than he'd ever seen her before, cheeks flushed with a strange rosy blush and eyes bright and alert. She seemed to almost have an excess of energy. He watched her as her gaze slowly slid to the others and observed their haggard state. 

 

Gabriel was grateful when she finally deigned to throw them a bone. The strange mist cascaded over them in a shower of golden light. Moira’s healing felt different than others. Angela’s was as if she were reverting you back to your original state. The biotic fields he and Jack had grown used to using were like a shot of adrenaline mixed in with it. Moira though, no, her healing felt like she was supplementing. 

 

She was putting something where the missing pieces were and it didn’t always feel like it belonged. The restorative effects weren’t necessarily temporary, but Gabriel preferred to wait a while after each mission with Moira to let his body get over the feeling that something was off. 

 

The jet finally arrived, a little banged up looking but otherwise in one piece. Fio’s voice came in over the comm. 

 

“Heya, team. You going to stand there looking pretty or get in?” Gabriel shook his head slowly, fighting the small smile that was coming on. Fio sure was something. Never at a loss for a quip to lash. They boarded with haste, Gabriel taking point and Moira following rear. 

 

“Thought ya’d chickened out on us, Fio-- ya were takin’ so long for someone in such a rush.” Jesse drawled, still seeming a bit bruised up even after hogging most of the healing from earlier. He cracked open a biotic field while sitting away from the others, tipping his hat down. Fio didn’t turn around but still made a noise that she heard him and was amused. 

 

“How are you feeling, Commander?” Gabriel started slightly at Moira’s voice. She was a bit too close for his comfort. He pushed her back with a finger, although she seemed more insulted at being touched than the fact he was pushing her away. 

 

“Like shit, if I’m being honest. But we’re alive. Better than being dead, that’s for sure.” 

 

“You are telling me.” Genji murmured, sitting pronely on the other side of the jet. Gabriel’s brow raised and he stared at the man for a moment, wondering if he’d even realized he’d spoken. The guy was getting more talkative but he was still fairly quiet. 

 

“Noted. I want to take another look at your molecular structure when we get back to the lab. I think I know what’s--” The whole jet shook, suddenly. The team was back to their feet before they knew it, hearing Fio curse loudly as she tried to regain control. 

 

“What’s going on, Fio, give me details.” Gabriel demanded. 

 

“We’ve got someone tailing us, I… I think? They’re not showing up on the radar but there’s no mistaking that something just hit us. My guess is that--” She was cut off as another blow shook the jet again, the whole thing shuddering dangerously with a groan. Fio cursed again, slamming a button frantically. 

 

“They’re taking out my goddamn weaponry! The bastards!” Jesse paced, expression looking none too thrilled. Genji was leaned back with a serene look of acceptance on his face. Gabriel didn’t like that one bit. Moira stepped forward then, much to everyone’s surprise. 

“I need you to open the hatch and see if you can give me visuals on the enemy. Do not ask any questions that you do not want answered.” The warning made Gabriel a bit more than suspicious. He was perhaps a little wary, even. Moira’s expression would have been frightening if Gabriel had not already faced worse horrors. 

 

“Got it. Everyone, hold tight and try not to fall out! Opening the side hatch, in three… two… one…” Gabriel braced himself, going for a spot closest to one of the harnesses. Jesse was already strapped in, gaze jumping around wildly. Moira, whatever the Hell she was up to, neglected to strap herself in anywhere. Genji had one hand, his metal one, holding tight to one of the bars. 

 

“There, I see them.” Moira shouted out over the wind noise, hair blowing wildly as she leaned out of the open hatch. Gabriel stared in dumbstruck wonder at just how fucking stupid Moira looked right now. How the Hell she wasn’t falling right out of the jet was a miracle, if Gabriel had believed in those. 

 

“I’m going to hold us as steady as possible then, you do what you need to, Doctor.” Fio had a sheen of sweat on the back of her neck, obviously as stressed as Gabriel was about what was happening. Jesse’s jaw was slackened, brow furrowed as he too watched Moira with grim interest. Genji was the only one who didn’t seem to be bother by any of this, still reclined back with his eyes closed. 

 

What came next wasn’t something any of them, even Gabriel, had witnessed before. The tank on Moira’s back sloshed, the force within it swirling in a strange compliment of purple and yellow. She brought her hands together, bracing one arm on the other, and took a step back. 

 

The force of the blast was enough to move the jet itself. Gabriel might’ve screamed a bit, but he wouldn't admit to it later. After all, it was probably Jesse anyways. The hostile aircraft was hit with surprising precision given they weren’t anywhere near stationary. Moira was laughing ecstatically the whole time, voice shrill over the cacophonous noise being produced. 

 

Gabriel watched as the hostile was shredded midair, unable to escape in time as the metal was peeled back from the hull, wings torn off. The end result was the vehicle falling through the air piece by piece until it quite suddenly exploded in a fantastic display. 

 

The stream slowed and came to a stop altogether, leaving a very satisfied looking Moira and her team of less pleased looking coworkers. The hatch closed then, an unsettling silence falling over them all. Moira looked a little less rosy cheeked now, but her eyes had not lost their wild light. Gabriel took a deep breath and spoke what was on everyone’s mind. 

 

“What the fuck was that?” Moira chuckled in reply, taking her seat and brushing a hand through her tousled hair. She managed to fix it mostly. Gabriel didn’t like her lack of answer one bit. 

 

“Well, whatever it was, it just saved our ass.” Fio sounded shaken by the events as well. Genji finally opened his eyes. Gabriel couldn’t believe he’d just missed all of that. 

 

“Consider this a rare treat to witness. It’s not often my tank gets full enough to do that.” Moira mused, suddenly. After a moment of silent contemplation, Gabriel conceded. Fio was right after all. Whatever Moira had just done had probably saved their skins. Questions could wait until later; he sure had a lot of them.

**Author's Note:**

> A multi chapter piece? More likely than you think! Stay tuned for part 2, 3, and 4 featuring Jesse's Deadeye, Gabriel's Death Blossom, and Moira's Coalescence. Sorry you didn't get to actually SEE Genji at work but I figure nobody really wants to witness a man hacking people to pieces with a possessed sword. Especially Jesse. That's probably at the bottom of the list of things he wants to see, right next to Moira naked. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, as always! Addio


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